"Sweet 16"! Clayton State women knock off Lander 82-73 in South Atlantic Regional semifinals
Ragin scores 26 points as Lakers advance to South Atlantic Region championship against Wingate

FLORENCE, S.C. – March 15, 2008 – The Clayton State Laker women’s basketball team is one game away from a return to Kearney.

Spearheaded by 26 points by senior forward Shantel Ragin, Clayton State returned to the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional championship game for a second straight season as the Lakers outlasted Peach Belt Conference rival Lander 82-73 at Francis Marion’s Smith Center on Saturday. Clayton State, which improves to 20-10 overall, will battle Wingate on Monday night at 7 p.m. at the Smith Center for the region championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II "Elite Eight" in Kearney, Neb.

In addition, Clayton State recorded its fourth straight 20-win season – all under head coach Dennis Cox. The Lakers have now won nine straight head-to-head against Lander.

The Lakers, behind 22 first half points by Ragin, overcame an early Lander lead and took a double-digit lead four times, including a 48-37 lead in the final minute. The Lady Beacats cut the deficit to eight points, 48-40 at halftime on three LaShonda Chiles free throws with a second remaining.

Quick baskets by Roberta Phillips and Marie St. Fort extended the Clayton State lead to 12 points early in the second half. However, Lander stormed back with a 7-0 run to cut the margin to 54-49 at 14:20 on a pair of Shannon McKever baskets and a field goal and free throw by Chiles.

A three pointer by Chiles cut the Laker lead to 56-53 at 11:46. Then Tiara Good tied the game at 59-59 on a rare four-point play when she was fouled after she made a 3-point basket, and then made the free throw. On the next possession, she drained another three to give the Lady Bearcats a 62-59 lead at 10:13.

The lead changed hands five more times before Clayton State took the lead for good 73-72 on a lay-up by Kim Larry with 4:29 remaining. That started an 11-1 run by the Lakers to end the game.

Lander missed six 3-point attempts in the final four minutes.

Ragin connected on 10-for-15 from the field and 4-for-5 from the field for Clayton State. In addition to Ragin, St. Fort scored 14 points with nine rebounds, while Lisa Jackson had another strong game off the bench with 13 points. Dominique Jennings added 11 points for the Lakers, who shot 50 percent from the field.

For Lander (23-12), Chiles scored 29 points and finished her career as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division II with 2,885 points. Good and McKever each scored 12 points for the Lady Bearcats.